The white-ball series between India, led by the stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana, and England, led by Nat Sciver-Brunt, including a 5-match T20I series, kick-starts the preparations for the upcoming edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, which will be hosted by England and Wales in June–July next year. The bilateral series will end with a three-match ODI series on 22nd July 2025.
The Indian team suffered a massive setback as their regular skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, was ruled out of the 1st T20I due to a head injury she suffered during the warm-up games, leading up to the T20I series. Smriti Mandhana stepped in as a stand-in skipper for her side. Nallapureddy Shree Charani made her T20I debut for India. The Indian line-up also saw the return of Shafali Verma and Sneh Rana. While for the home side, Tammy Beaumont returned to the T20I fold.
Smriti Mandhana leads from the front with her maiden T20I century
The Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana got their side off to a positive start with a 77-run opening partnership, after skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and inserted the visitors to bat first in the 1st T20I at Trent Bridge. Emily Arlott broke the stand, by sending Shafali Verma (20 off 22 balls) back to the pavilion in the 9th over of the innings to provide the much-needed 1st breakthrough for England.
Harleen Deol (43 off 23 balls) joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease, and the pair switched gears en route to another massive 94-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, taking them past the 170-run mark. The partnerships at the top of the order put India in the driver’s seat in the opening game of the series. India eventually posted a massive total of 210/5 in their quota of 20 overs.
The stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana notched up her maiden T20I century, becoming the 1st Indian player to score a century across all three formats. She also notched up the highest Individual score (112 off 62 balls) in the T20I format, surpassing skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s (103 Vs New Zealand).
Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (12 off 6 balls) provided the finishing touches to an extent. Lauren Bell (4-0-27-3) was the stand-out performer with the ball for her side. Lauren Filer (4-0-35-0), Emily Arlott (4-0-38-1), and Sophie Ecclestone (3-0-43-1) played their part with the ball for her side.
Nat Sciver-Brunt fights a lone battle as India takes T20I series lead
Chasing a massive total of 211, the home side seemed to have succumbed to the scoreboard pressure, as the Indian spin quartet, led by the debutant Shree Charani, left the English batters, barring their skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, clueless. England eventually folded for 113, with more than 5 overs to spare. India sealed the game by a massive 97-run margin to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt (66 off 42 balls) was the lone warrior for her side as she notched up her 18th half-century in the T20I format, which came in a losing cause. Emily Arlott (12 off 10 balls) and Tammy Beaumont (10 off 11 balls) were the only other batters to enter the double digits with the bat for England. The 49-run partnership for the 3rd wicket between Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver-Brunt was the highest partnership of the run chase.
The 20-year-old left-arm spinner Nallapureddy Shree Charani picked up a 4-wicket haul on her T20I debut and returned with impressive match figures (3.5-0-12-4) in her spell. Radha Yadav (2-0-15-2), Deepti Sharma (3-0-32-2), Arundhati Reddy (2-0-18-1), and Amanjot Kaur (2-0-22-1) played their part with the ball for India.
The stand-in Indian skipper Smriti Mandhana was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational, maiden T20I century (112 off 62 balls) with the bat for India, setting up the platform for a dominant win in the T20I series opener.
